Is There Any Reliable Food Source Of Iodine?

BaconBits

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In my country they tested commercial salts from the stores for iodine and the results were suprising. Mostly anything that wasnt in a hermetically sealed plastic bag had no iodine left. Also some had no iodine, maybe because manufacturers didnt even bother to add it, but in some it was discovered that it wasnt uniformly contained. So some packages from a manufacturer would be high,but most would be low. 11/16 samples had almost zero values.
 

Ben

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Do you have any reason to suspect you may have too little iodine? You may reconsider taking it.

Mary Shomon: Do you think the majority of people with hypothyroidism get too much or too little iodine? Should people with hypothyroidism add more iodine, like kelp, seaweeds, etc.?

Dr. Ray Peat: 30 years ago, it was found that people in the US were getting about ten times more iodine than they needed. In the mountains of Mexico and in the Andes, and in a few other remote places, iodine deficiency still exists. Kelp and other sources of excess iodine can suppress the thyroid, so they definitely shouldn't be used to treat hypothyroidism.

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/ray-peat.htm

Seafood is usually high in iodine, especially kelp, but it doesn't need to be specifically supplemented in most people.
 

burtlancast

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Rather than relying on outside unknown sources, why not prepare it yourself ?
Anyone can do it !

[BBvideo 560,340:30gtnqpv]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znqej6FBxTA[/BBvideo]
 
OP
B

BaconBits

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Ben said:
Do you have any reason to suspect you may have too little iodine? You may reconsider taking it.

Mary Shomon: Do you think the majority of people with hypothyroidism get too much or too little iodine? Should people with hypothyroidism add more iodine, like kelp, seaweeds, etc.?

Dr. Ray Peat: 30 years ago, it was found that people in the US were getting about ten times more iodine than they needed. In the mountains of Mexico and in the Andes, and in a few other remote places, iodine deficiency still exists. Kelp and other sources of excess iodine can suppress the thyroid, so they definitely shouldn't be used to treat hypothyroidism.

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/ray-peat.htm

Seafood is usually high in iodine, especially kelp, but it doesn't need to be specifically supplemented in most people.

Well the people in US are getting too much iodine, but in Europe the story is quite different. US really had problems with too much iodine, its seems it managed to lower it from the excessive intake but its still high. Probably because iodine was taken out of bread and milk.

Well seaweed sure has iodine, but the content varies so much, a teaspoon can have anything from a few ten micrograms to few miligrams. You just cant know if if you are getting too little,enough or way too much.
 

Ben

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If you do get too much, and it suppresses the thyroid gland, then you can supplement more thyroid. You should know from pulse or temperature if this is the case. Something to consider is that Asian countries have a longer life expectancy (I believe it's because they have higher progesterone, which RP said explains higher life expectancy in women), and yet they have extremely high amounts of iodine in their diet. It shouldn't concern you much. Iodine is an antioxidant regardless of whether it's enough to suppress the thyroid gland.
 

himsahimsa

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The Japanese

http://www.thyroidresearchjournal.com/content/4/1/14

I avoid iodine from seaweed because of possible contamination from radioactive iodine (I[sup]131[/sup])from all the usual suspects. Iodine from mines (I[sup]127[/sup])contains no radioactive iodine because its half life is short relative to geological time, minerals are buried a long time before anyone digs them up.

The paper in the link concludes the Japanese average 1 to 3 milligrams a day, with some people getting much higher doses regularly. The suppressive effect of iodine on thyroid output is temporary as the gland adjusts to a new higher level or simply avoids overproduction from a temporary high level. Bizarre high levels (~100mg/D) on a long term basis are obviously another matter. Like, we all have hydrochloric acid in our stomachs naturally and that is good but drinking pool acid is not good.

The iodine in bread, etc' was replaced by bromine. Bromine is similar enough, chemically, to iodine to interfere with the thyroid gland's production of hormone. Like a Trojan Horse. (And bromine, if you get a lot, causes an kind of psychosis, Mountain Dew Madness, tragic. All cloudy soft drinks contain brominated vegetable oil, don't drink them.)
 

pboy

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the pink rock salt has about as much as iodized salt...but it actually has it. Milk, potatoes, eggs, meat, strawberry, cranberry, sea salt have a little bit of iodine. Most seafood has a little. Kelp has way more than everything else, dulse also quite a bit more than everything else...but they have potential irritants and don't taste very good. Best would be to wash, make a stock or tea then strain if you really wanted to go to seaweed
 

Ben

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Re: The Japanese

himsahimsa said:
http://www.thyroidresearchjournal.com/content/4/1/14

I avoid iodine from seaweed because of possible contamination from radioactive iodine (I[sup]131[/sup])from all the usual suspects. Iodine from mines (I[sup]127[/sup])contains no radioactive iodine because its half life is short relative to geological time, minerals are buried a long time before anyone digs them up.

The paper in the link concludes the Japanese average 1 to 3 milligrams a day, with some people getting much higher doses regularly. The suppressive effect of iodine on thyroid output is temporary as the gland adjusts to a new higher level or simply avoids overproduction from a temporary high level. Bizarre high levels (~100mg/D) on a long term basis are obviously another matter. Like, we all have hydrochloric acid in our stomachs naturally and that is good but drinking pool acid is not good.

The iodine in bread, etc' was replaced by bromine. Bromine is similar enough, chemically, to iodine to interfere with the thyroid gland's production of hormone. Like a Trojan Horse. (And bromine, if you get a lot, causes an kind of psychosis, Mountain Dew Madness, tragic. All cloudy soft drinks contain brominated vegetable oil, don't drink them.)
This is where you read about this, right?

http://generationgreen.org/2012/02/moun ... n-my-soda/

I wonder if RP is aware of BVO.
 

Mittir

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Re: The Japanese

Ben said:
I wonder if RP is aware of BVO.


Here is a RP response on bromine
source : viewtopic.php?f=10&t=892#p7249

It's good to avoid fluoridated water as far as possible.
Certain forms of bromine, including bromate and polybrominated biphenyls, are definitely toxic, but simple bromide isn't very toxic; it took large amounts of Bromo-Seltzer used for a long time to produce harmful effects, hundreds of milligrams per day. Seawater contains bromide, so all seafood contains a lot; milk and meat naturally contain it, because soil generally contains a moderate amount. A few of the promoters of large iodine supplements--Abraham, Flechas, and Brownstein--are giving a wrong impression of bromine.

Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2004 Jun;229(6):473-8.
Iodine toxicity and its amelioration.
Baker DH.
Department of Animal Sciences and Division of Nutritional Sciences, 290 Animal
Sciences Laboratory, University of Illinois, 1207 West Gregory Drive, Urbana,
Illinois 61801, USA. [email protected]
Iodine (I) toxicity is rare in animals and humans, but nuclear explosions that
give off radioactive I and excessive stable I ingestion in parts of the world
where seaweed is consumed represent specialized I toxicity concerns. Chronic
overconsumption of I reduces organic binding of I by the thyroid gland, which
results in hypothyroidism and goiter. Bromine can replace I on position 5 of both
T(3) and T(4) with no loss of thyroid hormone activity. Avian work has also
demonstrated that oral bromide salts can reverse the malaise and growth
depressions caused by high doses of I (as KI) added as supplements to the diet.
Newborn infants by virtue of having immature thyroid glands are most susceptible
to I toxicity, whether of stable or radioactive origin. For the latter, the 1986
Chernobyl nuclear accident in Belarus has provided evidence that KI blockage
therapy for exposed individuals 18 years of age and younger is effective in
minimizing the development of thyroid cancer. Whether bromide therapy has a place
in I toxicity situations remains to be determined."
 

himsahimsa

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I hadn't seen that. I've hung out with health nuts since the 60s. It's just known. Lots of stuff looks like news because people who push poison are very good and very persistent at re-re-re-suppressing information. Whack-A Mole for money. Gets me what I want, so what if it kills people. Not my problem. And it's good for the economy. Keeps the medical industry thriving, playing Whack-A-Mole.

I was thinking about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromism
 

himsahimsa

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15169965 is interesting. It could account for the possibility of living in truly iodine deficient areas and still being at least minimally euthyriod. The ability to utilize bromine as a partial substitute for iodine would be evolutionarily adaptive. But I have read a lot of the studies (maybe most) involving iodine toxicity on PubMed and they never mention controlling for selenium or glutathione status and low selenium or glutathione could manifest as iodine toxicity to the thyroid, so that makes me think their conclusions need a grain of salt.
 

BingDing

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I had this discussion with myself a couple months ago and decided there probably wasn't much iodine in what I eat.

I think it was in the Q and A interview cited above that Peat said supplementing the RDA (150 mcg) of iodine was safe. That is micrograms, 1000 times less than milligrams.

I've been using Life-flo brand, at least it has no excipients. I felt that my response to it was positive.
 

Amazoniac

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Before cooking:

Stability of Iodine in Iodized Salt

“Elemental iodine readily sublimes and is then rapidly lost to the atmosphere through diffusion. Potassium iodide is less stable than potassium iodate, as it can be oxidized to elemental iodine by oxygen or other oxidizing agents, especially in the presence of impurities, such as metal ions and moisture, which catalyze the reaction. Potassium iodate may be reduced to the elemental iodine by a variety of reducing agents in the salt, such as ferrous ions. Moisture is naturally present in the salt, or is abstracted from the air by hygroscopic impurities such as magnesium chloride. The pH of the condensed moisture on the salt is very much influenced by the type and quantity of impurities present, and this affects the stability of the iodine compounds. Elevated temperatures increase the rates of iodine loss.

The levels and types of impurities, moisture content and pH of salt produced for human consumption vary widely. Salt is produced from sea water, rock salt deposits and lake sediments, by solar evaporation of brines and dry or solution mining of rock salt deposits. Refining processes range from simple washing methods to large-scale mechanized vacuum evaporation systems which require trained operators and rigorous quality assurance.

Based on the chemical properties of salt aimed at human consumption, losses of iodine were not unexpected, and there have been numerous published and unpublished studies on iodine stability in salt during the past 75 years. A review of this literature showed that iodate is superior to iodide in terms of stability as a fortificant in salt. Published evidence of the stability of iodine, added in the form of iodate without stabilizers, is relatively meagre, but indicates iodine losses ranging from around 5% to 66% after 12 months.

The studies undertaken between 1923 and 1996, are difficult to compare. Variation between rates of iodine loss reflect impurities, moisture content, and processing methods. Conditions of packaging and storage, such as humidity and temperature also affect the final iodine content of the salt, yet these factors were not always clearly defined in earlier studies. Sample sizes and reproducibility of results were not always reported, making it more difficult to access the statistical significance of results.

A comprehensive review of the literature by Kelly (1953) concluded that the stability of iodine in salt is determined by (i) the moisture content of the salt and the humidity of the atmosphere (ii) light, (iii) heat (iv) impurities in the salt (v) alkalinity or acidity (vi) the form in which the iodine is present. He concluded that the iodine content will remain relatively constant if the salt is packed dry with an impervious lining, and kept dry, cool, and away from light. He recommended that iodate be used under adverse conditions such as found in developing countries where the salt being iodized is crude, unprocessed and usually not dried sufficiently.

Potassium iodate was stabilized by calcium carbonate in crude sea salt stored in hemp fibre sacks for up to eight months at ambient temperature and relative humidity between 70% and 84%. Only some 3.5% of the added iodine was lost. (Arroyave, et al. 1956)

Chauhan et. al., (1992) compared iodine stability over 300 days in common salt iodized with iodate, packed in 5 kg solid high density polyethylene (HDPE) bags or left in open heaps. The relative humidity and temperature varied from 41 - 83% and 30-39 °C respectively. Both the salt packed in HDPE bags and in the open lost 9-10% of the added iodine within the first month, after which values remained practically constant.”

Stability of iodine in iodized salt used for correction of iodine-deficiency disorders. II (similar article, just reinforcing the other)

The actual availability of iodine from iodized salt at the consumer level can vary over a wide range as a result of:
» variability in the amount of iodine added during the iodization process;
» uneven distribution of iodine in the iodized salt, within batches and individual bags;
» losses of iodine due to salt impurities, packaging, and environmental conditions during storage and distribution;
» losses of iodine due to food processing, washing, and cooking processes in the household.

--
After cooking:

http://www.ifrj.upm.edu.my/15 (3) 2008/10. Wisnu C.pdf

“The effects of cooking process on iodate stability in certain food (i.e. sour vegetable soup and spinach soup) showed a significant difference in iodate content decrease. Decomposition percentage of iodate into other iodine species and reduction of the highest iodate content occurred in the sour vegetable soup (48.52%), while in the spinach soup (34.62%) during cooking at 100oC for 70 min. The decrease of iodate content and conversion to other iodine species is caused by acidity, moisture content, heating during cooking process, and also influenced by the type of cooking spices and raw materials used. Decrease of iodate content in sour vegetable soup was 56.63% during cooking at 100oC for 35min, while in soto (chicken soup) with coconut milk it was 39.48% at 105oC for 55 min. (Dahro, 1996; Diosady et al., 1997, 1998 ; Arhya ,1998)”

“According to Arhya (1994, 1998), the type of cooking spices i.e.,chilli, terasi, pepper and coriander can contribute to the decrease of iodine content. The occurrence of iodate decomposition into other iodine species (iodine and iodide) in cooking spices was caused by iodate reduction with reductor compounds in cooking spices under acidic conditions, for example chili has low pH of about 4. Therefore chilli has the highest ability to reduce iodate content compared to coriander and pepper (Dahro, 1996; Diosady et al., 1997, 1998; Arhya, 1998; Saksono, 2003)”

“Determination of iodine content which evaporates during cooking was conducted in this study and the results showed significant amount of iodine evaporation.”

“The bioavailability of iodide from iodized salt is only 10% of the estimated 0.75 mg iodide in iodized salt consumed per day.”

--
I noticed that the times that I used refined iodized salt, it immediately reacted with starchy meals; however, when I started using other salts, that didn’t happen anymore. Fancier salts come in those cute bags, that are not perfectly sealed and sometimes it’s not even a plastic bag/glass container; they are usually coarser and with less surface area.

Some people add salt as the cooking process starts, which might contribute to a greater loss.

If there was a shortage of iodine intake for some time, the detrimental halogens probably predominated. I don’t know how much iodine is required to displace them and normalize things; or if you need some extra to compensate for the drought.

The amount of fortification varies according to the legislation of where you live. Some places don’t allow enough, others demand too much. It’s complicated and worth checking your salt.

Since taste is a reliable guide for salt intake, then the benefits that some experience from its reduction might be related to diminishing unbalanced/excessive iodine. I wonder if it's possible to counteract that with extra possium for the sodium and selenium for the iodine.
 
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Amazoniac

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www.banglajol.info/index.php/JPharma/article/download/30931/20847
Iodized salts stored in atmospheres of relative humidity of 50 percent lose smaller quantities of their iodine than salts stored under similar conditions at other humidity. Universal salt iodization is the recommended intervention for preventing and correcting iodine deficiency. In the past, recommendations for iodine levels in salt were made on the assumption that, from producer to consumer, iodine losses from iodized salt were commonly between 25% and 50%, and that average salt intakes were commonly between 5 and 10 g/person/day.

Salt is hygroscopic in nature and soluble in water. Hence, it absorbed water and the iodine present in the salt was leached out and lost during boiling. But water was not required as a cooking medium during shallow frying, so loss of iodine during boiling was more than during shallow frying.

Moreover, food contains many other ingredients especially many unsaturated compounds. These insaturations may also form complexes with iodine rendering less evaporation. [Not sure if it's still useful after that]

To prevent iodine losses while cooking, it is advisable to sprinkle salt on food after cooking (wherever possible) rather than adding salt while cooking as is done traditionally in Bangladesh. Further, storage of iodized salt in a hot and humid condition near the cooking oven should be avoided. In Bangladeshi market, only 1 kg and 500 g salt packs are available. A medium family containing 4-6 members buys one salt pack for 15 days or a month. But as iodine is a volatile compound, it evaporates during storage in the kitchen near the oven. So, smaller pack size of 250 g or 100 g can reduce iodine loss from kitchen salt.

Being optimistic, let's say that
- your salt has 40mcg (some have 30 or less - they mentioned 15 on the study) for each gram
- nothing was lost during storage (which is unlikely, in this study the iodine content dropped by half 2 weeks later after opening the package of iodized salt)
- 10 grams of salt is the intake per day (that's the average of some people here for a week)
- only 10% was lost during cooking
- everything was absorbed
Total: 360mcg/d.

Rounding values higher: 2 eggs 30mcg, shrimp serving 50 mcg, 1 quart of milch 200mcg
Total with food: 640mcg/d (still under the unlikely circumnstances)

Ray commented somewhere that the detrimental effects start to appear with 500mcg/d.
However I suppose that this applies here: Cautionary Tale / Eat Selenium
Even if you drop only the average salt intake to 2.5g a day, you can see how this issue deserves some attention.

Deficiency seems indeed unlikely, but when it comes to a marginal deficiency, what Such commented about pboy apparently applies here too: improbable but not impossible.

@burtlancast - do you have any opinion on this?
 
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Amazoniac

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http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es0719071
Based on the link, salt in the US and A has on average 45mcg/g.
While milk iodine levels do show seasonal variation (being highest in the winter 7, 34, 35), the average iodine content of U.S. dairy whole milk decreased from a high of 602 (+-184) μg/L in 1978 to 155 (+-19) μg/L in 1989–90 (34). More recent limited measurements indicate an average value <100μg/L (36, 37).

Specifically, the two major factors contributing to lowered U.S. iodine intake since the 1970s are the reduced use of iodine-based disinfectants/iodine in feed supplement in the dairy industry, and the reduction/elimination of iodate (IO3-)-based conditioners in bread (21, 35, 38).

If one begins with poor iodine nutrition, removing goitrogens from one’s diet will not restore iodine nutrition.

Rather than purchase only locally available salt, we undertook a salt solicitation campaign. The solicitation went out to friends and professional colleagues and the senior author made a pitch for salt contribution at whichever scientific conference he attended. Briefly, we solicited 20–25 g of salt from the top of a fresh container, to be put in a thick-walled zip-lock bag, excluding air as best as possible when sealing the bag.

In air, iodide is oxidized to iodine that can readily sublime. Heat and moisture also cause loss of iodine; microencapsulation reduces such loss (67, 68).
In brand W, the iodine content steeply increased from top to bottom, resulting in a ∼50% coefficient of variance.

As a matter of allied interest, we analyzed a few salt samples from UK, Canada, Brazil, The Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand, China, India, Belgium, Australia, and Japan. Salt is not iodized in Japan and this iodized salt was actually imported; iodine content was detectable but low at 14 mg/kg. All of the other samples except one from Australia fell within the levels of iodizationrecommendedby the individual countries.

If one [..] consumes no more than 5 g of salt per day as per WHO recommendations (26), the approximate iodine intake from salt would still be of the same order, 45 μg (assuming the salt contained 45 mg I/kg) because only one-fifth of the salt consumed in the United States is iodized.
Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of salt in the U.S. diet is not iodized. Approximately 70% of the salt is used commercially-virtually none of the salt used by the preprepared or the fast food industry is iodized. Approximately 70% of the remaining 30%, sold to consumers in grocery stores, is iodized, representing one-fifth of the total salt consumed (14, 71).

Inhomogeneity is not therefore rare; the large inhomogeneity found in some samples is worrisome.
 

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